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DMW Daily, January 22, 2009

Top Stories
o Microsoft Announces Up to 5,000 Layoffs; 5% of Work Force
o Sony Expects First Loss in 14 Years; Expands Restructuring
o Report: 5.7% of U.S. Homes Not Ready for Digital TV Transition
o Tech-Savvy Obama Staff Finds White House Largely Outdated
o Google to Expand Ad Program for YouTube Media Partners
o Social News Site Digg Lays Off 10% of Staff
o Mobile Advertising Firm 4INFO Secures $20 Million
o IMVU Raises $10 Million for 3D Virtual Community
o Report: Spammers Shifting From Email to Social Networks
o Bluestreak Lands $4 Million for Flash-based Media Engine
o Personalized Social Media Avatar Firm mEgo Gets $2.5 Million
Opinion & Analysis
o Guest Column: MIDEM 2009 - Setting Music Free
o Buzz Watch: Audi Hits Inauguration Online Video Jackpot As Exclusive Sponsor
o Analysis: Do the Studios Still Have Game?
Briefly Noted
o Layoffs Hit Electronic Arts' "Madden NFL" Studio
o Viacom Signs Content Carriage Deals With DISH, Sling.com
o "I Am Legend" Tops Hotel VOD Sales for 2008
o Google Ads on IsoHunt File-Sharing Hub Trigger Complaints
o Federated Media to Handle Advertising for Social Site Mixx
o Electronic Arts Plans Version of "Spore" Game for Kids
 Top Stories
o Microsoft Announces Up to 5,000 Layoffs; 5% of Work Force 
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft announced on Thursday that it will cut up to 5,000 jobs, or about 5% of its global workforce, over the next 18 months as part of a cost-saving initiative in the face of the global recession. [more..]
o Sony Expects First Loss in 14 Years; Expands Restructuring 
Tokyo - Sony on Thursday announced that it will post its first annual loss in 14 years in 2008 ($1.68 billion), and said it will expand a previously announced restructuring plan across the entire company. [more..]
o Report: 5.7% of U.S. Homes Not Ready for Digital TV Transition 
New York - More than 6.5 million U.S. households, or 5.7% of all homes, are not ready for the upcoming Feb. 17 transition when analog TV signals will be shut off and replaced with digital-only broadcasts, according to a report from the Nielsen Company. [more..]
o Tech-Savvy Obama Staff Finds White House Largely Outdated 
Washington - Members of the tech-savvy Obama administration spent their first full day in the White House on Wednesday coming to grips with largely outdated technology, including old computer software, disconnected phone lines and a shortage of laptops, The Washington Post reported. [more..]
o Google to Expand Ad Program for YouTube Media Partners 
San Bruno, Calif. - Google plans to expand its program that lets media firms sell ads against their videos on YouTube, TechCrunch reported, citing "industry sources." [more..]
o Social News Site Digg Lays Off 10% of Staff 
San Francisco - Social news aggregation site Digg announced on its blog on Thursday that it will effect a round of layoffs, later telling All Things D that it will cut about 10% of its staff of 75. [more..]
o Mobile Advertising Firm 4INFO Secures $20 Million 
San Mateo, Calif. - Mobile advertising and publishing services firm 4INFO announced on Thursday that it has raised $20 million in equity and debt funding, led by Peacock Equity and Gannett. [more..]
o IMVU Raises $10 Million for 3D Virtual Community 
Palo Alto, Calif. - IMVU, the developer of a 3D virtual community for consumers, announced on Thursday that it has closed a $10 million fourth round of funding, led by Best Buy Capital. [more..]
o Report: Spammers Shifting From Email to Social Networks 
Burlington, Mass. - Five years after Bill Gates predicted spam would be eradicated, it remains a major problem for computer users as spammers have focused increased attacks on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter during the last quarter, according to a report from IT security firm Sophos. [more..]
o Bluestreak Lands $4 Million for Flash-based Media Engine 
Montreal - Bluestreak Technology, the provider of a Flash-based engine that runs rich media applications like mobile TV, has raised $4 million in new financing from its major shareholders. [more..]
o Personalized Social Media Avatar Firm mEgo Gets $2.5 Million 
Los Angeles - mEgo, the developer of a service that lets users create personalized, Flash-based avatars that can be used across social network profiles and blogs, has raised $2.5 million in new financing, TechCrunch reported. [more..]
 Opinion & Analysis
o Guest Column: MIDEM 2009 - Setting Music Free 
As Digital Media Wire readers ready themselves for the highly anticipated Digital Music Forum East, here’s an overview of the annual MIDEM music conference that just concluded in Cannes, France, blogs Hal Bringman. [more..]
o Buzz Watch: Audi Hits Inauguration Online Video Jackpot As Exclusive Sponsor 
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o Analysis: Do the Studios Still Have Game? 
For better or worse, interactive entertainment is becoming the dominant form of entertainment in the U.S. and abroad, apart from live events and television, and commands an ever-growing slice of the (shrinking) consumer leisure dollar, blogs Paul Sweeting. [more..]
 Briefly Noted
o Layoffs Hit Electronic Arts' "Madden NFL" Studio 
Orlando, Fla. - Electronic Arts has laid off an undisclosed number of staff from its Tiburon studio in Florida, whose team develops the popular "Madden NFL" franchise, the Orlando Sentinel reported. [more..]
o Viacom Signs Content Carriage Deals With DISH, Sling.com 
New York - Viacom has reached a deal with EchoStar that will see content from its MTV Networks, BET and Paramount Pictures become available on Sling.com, the new video streaming site launched by the makers of the Slingbox set-top, the Wall Street Journal reported. [more..]
o "I Am Legend" Tops Hotel VOD Sales for 2008 
Sioux Falls, S.D. - LodgeNet Interactive, the largest provider of in-room video-on-demand and other entertainment services to hotels, on Thursday announced its list of the top on-demand movie sales for 2008, led by "I Am Legend." [more..]
o Google Ads on IsoHunt File-Sharing Hub Trigger Complaints 
Los Angeles - Major label Sony BMG and Norwegian online music store Platekompaniet have complained to Google, after Google AdWords ads for their companies appeared on IsoHunt, one of the world's largest BitTorrent file-sharing network tracker sites, TorrentFreak reported. [more..]
o Federated Media to Handle Advertising for Social Site Mixx 
San Francisco - Online publishing and advertising firm Federated Media announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal to represent Mixx, a social media site with six million monthly unique users that offers user-recommended media and personalization tools. [more..]
o Electronic Arts Plans Version of "Spore" Game for Kids 
Emeryville, Calif. - Game developer Electronic Arts' Maxis studio said on Thursday that it plans to release a new version of its "Spore" universe-building game targeted specifically at kids. [more..]